Published 1:00 pm Monday, December 7, 2020
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The leaders of several major farm and commodity groups met with president-elect Joe Biden’s transition team for USDA virtually on Dec. 4.
“We’re working really hard to build relationships with people in the transition team,” Zippy Duvall, president of the American Farm Bureau Federation, told the Capital Press Monday.
Duvall, along with other members of the Ag CEO Council, a coalition of farm organizations and supplier industries, participated in the meeting Friday with members of Biden’s transition team: Robert Bonnie, former undersecretary for natural resources and the environment at USDA, and Jonathan Coppess, former Farm Service Agency administrator under Obama.
Duvall said he had received a call a few weeks prior to the meeting from Robert Bonnie, who wanted to talk farm and rural policy.
“We had a great conversation. I think it was very productive,” Duvall said.
During that hourlong call, Duvall invited Bonnie to talk with the Ag CEO Council. Bonnie agreed.
From these initial calls, Duvall said, he’s beginning to establish key relationships and is getting a better sense for what to expect from the Biden administration.
In that meeting, Duvall said, agricultural leaders urged immigration reform.
“This administration has promised to do something to fix our labor problems in the first 100 days. We want to make sure they don’t forget. Finding an adequate workforce for our farms is probably the biggest problem we have,” said Duvall.
The farm leaders also pressed for better access to personal protective equipment, or PPE.
Duvall said farm leaders stressed they need functioning markets and better international trade policies, not just government payouts.
“As long as commodity prices are up and markets are open, there’s no need for aid. Our farmers want to get their income from the marketplace,” Duvall said.
Other top issues discussed included biofuels, research, a COVID-19 vaccine and rural infrastructure including better roads, dams, bridges, healthcare and broadband.
They also talked sustainability and climate.
On Nov. 17, the American Farm Bureau Federation announced a new alliance with groups typically pitted against one another — food, farming, forestry and environmental organizations — aimed at having a hand in climate policy under a Biden administration.
Duvall said Biden’s transition team reacted positively to the alliance.
“Bonnie said he was proud to see the leadership we provided in that area,” said Duvall.
Duvall said his organization didn’t endorse anyone for USDA Agriculture Secretary.
However, he told the transition team he hopes it will be someone who has farmed in their adult life – or at the least, has a “deep knowledge of the issues.”
Duvall also said he wants good “liaisons” at each agency, like EPA, who understand agriculture. Duvall said it’s not realistic for him to contact agency chiefs every time, so he will need solid agency contacts who understand farming.
“It’s important who the agency administrators will be. But it’s just as important to have a good liaison,” said Duvall, who communicated this need to Biden’s transition team.
